Small, lightweight, commercially available hand-held cameras have side mounted, wing-like flat panel imagers or LCD monitor screens that are moveably attached to the camera body to pivot between a stored position and an outwardly extended position from the camera body during use. Images of the object being photographed are displayed on the monitor screen. These cameras do not have built-in eye level viewfinders, so the user normally holds the screen away from his or her eyes at a normal reading distance from about 12 to about 18 inches. However, it is difficult—often impossible—to see these screen images in glaring sunlight. Consequently, anti-glare shields are sometimes used to cast a shadow on the screen, reducing glare that would wash out the screen image. For example, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,367, a rigid device may be used that is inconvenient to store when not being used.
In addition to glare, another problem is camera stability. In general, the user holds such hand-held cameras with only one hand at a normal reading distance away from the eyes. Consequently, it is difficult to follow and capture acceptable images of fast action events like sports without some mechanism such as a tripod for stabilizing the camera. This, however, inhibits mobility. Moreover, since the screen is relatively small, it is difficult to see the image being displayed and track the action being recorded, especially for users with poor vision. Even many “professional” cameras with optical or digital viewfinders that have an ancillary flat panel monitor screens for displaying digital images, these digital images are unmagnified, difficult to see, and also prone to bright-light wash out.